Week 1: Ice Breakers

To begin the module, our first session was designed to introduce us all to one another and get us to begin practising our drawing skills. 

The first task was a basic pencil drawing for 20 minutes. Although this was the most 'traditional' technique of the session, I found it challenging, as capturing a likeness is something I find difficult. I really had to focus on the subject's facial features and record what I saw and not what I thought should be there. On the whole I am relatively happy with this drawing as I feel I did capture the essence of the person and it bears a likeness. I like the variation in line and pressure as I feel it adds a good sense of depth and tone - although I think I could possibly have developed the use of tone somewhat and brought the face to life a little more.

KRISTINA / 20 MINS / 4B PENCIL

Next we changed partners and this time we were set stricter time limits. We had to create three drawings of the same person in quick succession. One was 10 minutes, the second 5 minutes and the final 2.5 minutes. It was an interesting exercise to compare your drawings from different time limits and see which was stronger, more accurate, etc. I found that surprisingly I prefer my fastest drawing, because it seems that I didn't have time to overthink my mark making and therefore each line has purpose and the resulting piece appears more fluid and powerful. I also didn't have time to spend on detail or overworking the image, so the face looks more realistic and the main features are bold and defined. This is obvious compared to my 10 minute drawing, which shows how I got a little carried away with the hair detail and giving the face my own style.

NIKKITA / 10 MINS / B PENCIL

NIKKITA / 5 MINS / B PENCIL

NIKKITA / 2.5 MINS / B PENCIL

We then switched partners twice and made a blind drawing of each. I find blind drawings a lot of fun because you take the control away from your eyes and just rely on your hand drawing what you're seeing. It gives some very interesting results that wouldn't necessarily be made if you were able to see your work. Although my drawings ended up very distorted I think the results are striking with layered and bold line work. It also creates some unusual compositions as the pencil strays to random areas of the page and splits the face into strange shapes. Blind drawing teaches me a lot about really taking in what you are looking at and not getting carried away with the process. 

KAROLINA / 5 MINS / BLIND DRAWING / 3B PENCIL

KIAN / 3 MINS / BLIND DRAWING / 3B PENCIL

Sticking with the second partner from our blind drawings we went on to semi-blind drawings. This is when you try to only look down at your page once in a while so you're mainly still letting your hand do the 'seeing'. One was 15 minutes and required two different mediums, so I chose black brush pen and pencil. The semi-blind technique was helpful in that I could choose where to add the second medium but still keeping the image loose and less controlled. I chose to use the pen over areas where there was darker tone which I think is effective at making the image stand out from the page. The pencil and pen work quite well together to create layers and depth. One thing that I would perhaps improve upon is using less scribbling/line work in the image, as I think fewer, more confident lines would define the facial features better and accentuate the pen work.

KIAN / 15 MINS / SEMI BLIND DRAWING / BRUSH PEN & 4B PENCIL

This is easy to see when comparing this image to the next drawing we did, with continuous line and only one medium. I chose pen, and I can see how this is so much more effective and striking using a single line for only the outline of the image. I really enjoyed this exercise - I really like the end result and how the negative space defines the image. It creates a very clean and angular effect. We also only had 5 minutes for this drawing which I think helps the overall minimalist outcome.

KIAN / 5 MINS / SEMI BLIND CONT. LINE DRAWING / BRUSH PEN

The final semi-blind drawing was also 5 minutes and used two mediums again, so I chose biro and fineliner. Looking back, I think I should possibly have chosen two mediums that look more different as both types of pen appear quite similar and so there isn't lots of contrast in the lines. Even so, there is a nice combination of lines within the drawing, with darker areas using denser scribble and the face defined only with single lines. 

KIAN / 5 MINS / SEMI BLIND DRAWING / BIRO AND FINELINER PEN

The next exercise used our non-dominant hand which was another challenge, as it means you have less control over your drawing. I used charcoal and white chalk as I thought it would be a smoother medium and it worked well with the technique because I didn't have to worry so much about the neatness of my lines and could draw quickly. We could spend 15 minutes so could achieve a more developed image. I found drawing with my opposite hand a lot easier and more successful than I expected because I didn't have absolute control so my lines had to be looser and less precise. This gave me quite a nice soft and sketchy effect. I'm not 100% pleased with the likeness but this is something I can work on and learn as I go through these exercises and future classes. I would like to experiment more with charcoal and chalk in future to improve my clarity of line and develop tonal areas. 

CHARLIE / 15 MINS / NON-DOMINANT HAND DRAWING / CHARCOAL AND WHITE CHALK

Our final task reverted full circle and we had 20 minutes again to draw a new partner in any way we wanted with any medium. Having produced multiple drawings since my first one I had learnt a little better how to manage time and had been working faster, so my composition turned out stronger in this piece and the head was actually on shoulders rather than floating in the centre of the page. I introduced a wider variety of mark making and used a little more tone than in my first pencil drawing, so the face looks somewhat more likelike and 3D. I am again rather happy with the likeness, so I think this shows that the exercises were successful in helping me really look at what I'm drawing and not draw my own ideas too much. Some of the lines appear perhaps a little tentative and could have been bolder, but as a piece on the whole I am very pleased with this result.

LUKE / 20 MINS / 2H PENCIL

From this session I feel I have had a good introduction to life drawing and have already gained a greater understanding of what drawing really is. I have begun to train my mind into focusing less on my work and more on the subject, and begun to understand how different techniques and different mediums can strengthen  and change an outcome. I am excited to continue developing these reflections in future weeks.